Brad Paisley: “I Bled For This”

Standing in his in-studio Irishish pub on Friday evening (March 17), Brad Paisley talked with two of his co-writers — and thousands of fans watching on Facebook — about his upcoming album Love and War.

And the track that kicks all the new music off: “Heaven South.”

Paisley, Brent Anderson and Chris DuBois go back and forth about the song and what it means to them, and together they come to the conclusion that it is the album’s missing piece.

“It’s something that would make you feel a little bit like it’s a great time to be alive right here in the south,” Paisley said.

But it’s not only for people literally living in the south. It also works for anyone in that same frame of mind.

“It’s more a metaphor that has to do with, ‘This is Heaven South.’ When your life’s going good, and you’re able to tune out all the stuff that’s going on in the news and all the things that causes angst in these days.

“You look around and realize what’s important,” he said. “That’s what this song’s about.”

The album goes much deeper, he added, but this song feels like morning.

“Like it’s starting the day on the right note,” he said. “I like the way it kicks the record off: by looking at the bright side.”

And when Paisley touched on the rest of the album — due out April 21 — he just said, “I will say this, I bled for this album.”